Free Market Capitalism vs. Crony Capitalism

Free market capitalism can be defined as "a system wherein individuals are free to pursue their own interests, make voluntary exchanges, and hold private property rights in goods and services." Allowing consumers and producers to trade at mutually agreed upon prices, free market capitalism is a system characterized﻿ by voluntary rather than coercive exchange. In such a system, the role of government is limited: protecting individuals' basic rights to life, liberty, property, and association; providing a legal system for the enforcement of contracts; and defending individuals against internal and external threats of physical force.﻿

By contrast, whether referred to as cronyism, corporatism, mercantilism, liberal fascism, or venture socialism, crony capitalism is simply the cooperation of government and business. While this cooperation benefits the involved business and politician(s), it generally hurts the politically and corporately unconnected. Furthermore, the power and benefits of crony capitalism can often lead to corruption, a fact which James Madison recognized when he stated, "Wherever there is an interest and power to do wrong, wrong will generally be done, and not less readily by a powerful & interested party than by a powerful and interested prince."﻿

Unlike in a free market capitalist system, under crony capitalism it is often more profitable for businesses to spend resources lobbying ﻿legislators for handouts in the form of grants, loans, or tax advantages, and protections against competition in order to increase their profits.﻿ In turn, the government's willingness to hand out special privileges promotes the politically well-connected rather than those who seek to earn the preference of investors and consumers based on merit. The gains of such activities usually accrue to the businesses and politicians involved at the expense of consumers and taxpayers. Consumers have to pay higher prices due to decreased competition, and taxpayers have to foot the bill for loans, grants, bailouts, and tax breaks. Thus, crony capitalism creates a system of privatized gains and "socialized losses."﻿﻿

In recent years, the collaboration between corporations and government has increased. A major example of crony capitalism occurred late in the Bush administration with the large corporate bailouts implemented under TARP. Another more recent case is the Obama administration using part of the 2009 Recovery Act stimulus to support alternative energy companies like Solyndra, which declared bankruptcy shortly after accepting the government’s loan.

Anger over situations like these took center stage during the Occupy Wall Street protests during the Fall of 2011. These protests blamed the 2007-2009 Recession on the financial industry. According to the Occupy Wall Street protestors, large corporations simply have too much power to influence the legislative process in Congress.

The protestors favor one of the two opposing solutions that have been put forth to prevent crony capitalism. That solution is to increase government regulation of businesses. Opponents of this option however point out that large corporations and the politically well-connected have too much influence on the legislative process because, more often than not, the politicians and government bureaucrats involved in that process are not able to withstand that influence.

The second solution proposed is to diminish government power and intervention in the economy. ﻿As long as there is some favor to be had from government, business will pursue it. Thus, so the argument goes, the only way to truly stifle the mechanisms of crony capitalism is to remove ﻿the ability of the government to hand out favors and limit it to its primary responsibility of protecting individual rights.﻿﻿﻿

This topic explores the differences between crony capitalism and free market capitalism. The sources gathered here shed light on some of the mechanisms of crony capitalism, provide many examples, and offer various views of the causes and remedies for it.﻿

Halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, on a former cattle ranch and gypsum mine, NRG Energy is building an engineering marvel: a compound of nearly a million solar panels that will produce enough electricity to power about 100,000 homes.﻿

"John Broder of The New York Times has an interesting piece on Al Gore’s financial profit tied to his global warming alarmism and push for renewable energy. Gore’s venture capital firm invested in Silver Spring Networks, a company that makes hardware and software to improve efficiency in the...

"Anyone who opposes ethanol subsidies, as these columns have for decades, comes to appreciate the wisdom of St. Jude. But now that a modern-day patron saint—St. Al of Green—has come out against the fuel made from corn and your tax dollars, maybe this isn't such a lost cause.

Welcome to the college of converts, Mr. Vice President. 'It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies...

Hamilton may indeed be worthy of this title; but lest we give him and his economic ideas undue credit, we should pause to consider exactly what kind of 'capitalism' Hamilton and his Federalist allies bestowed on the U.S. economy.

"Free markets depend on truth telling. Prices must reflect the valuations of consumers; interest rates must be reliable guides to entrepreneurs allocating capital across time; and a firm's accounts must reflect the true value of the business. Rather than truth telling, we are becoming an economy of liars. The cause is straightforward: crony capitalism."

"When the government-backed Solyndra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, policymakers supportive of the loan-guarantee program said variations of the following: 'If this were a venture capital firm and only one out of 10 projects failed, they would be a great success.' That would be fine if it were private money, not taxpayer money. But now a second company is going under."

"Armed with tens of billions in loans from the Chinese government, Chinese solar companies have scaled at a rate unthinkable only a few years ago. At the end of this year, there will likely be 50,000 MW of manufacturing capacity in place around the world, with much of that new capacity being developed in China and other Asian countries. (In the year 2000, there was only 100 MW of production...

"The United Auto Workers union urged senators on Monday to reject any attempt to block a “cash for clunkers” proposal designed to generate new auto sales.

The Senate is expected to consider the proposal this week to provide vouchers to consumers who turn in their gas-guzzling cars and trucks for the purchase of more fuel-efficient vehicles. Lawmakers secured $1 billion for the proposal...

"The Obama administration has just proposed a new fee — otherwise known as a tax — on the country's largest financial institutions.

The tax aims to recover the difference between the bailout funds provided to these institutions a year and a half ago and the amounts ultimately returned to the Treasury. In so doing, the tax will allegedly reduce the federal deficit by some $90 billion....

"The bankruptcy comes about two months after Solyndra -- a solar panel maker with a $535 million loan guarantee -- also filed for Chapter 11, creating a political embarrassment for the administration of President Barack Obama, which has championed the loans as a way to create 'green energy' jobs.

Beacon Power drew down $39 million of its government-guaranteed loan to fund a portion of a...

Federal employees whose compensation averages more than $126,000 and the nation’s greatest concentration of lawyers helped Washington edge out San Jose as the wealthiest U.S. metropolitan area, government data show.

"Many window-making companies struggle because of the recession's effect on home building. But one little window company, Serious Materials, is 'booming,' says Fortune. 'On a roll,' according to Inc. magazine, which put Serious' CEO on its cover, with a story titled: 'How to Build a Great Company'.

The Minnesota Freedom Foundation tells me that this same little window company also gets...

"Under John Browne, BP’s CEO from 1995 until a scandal forced him to resign in 2007, BP ventured into the leftist world of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), that trendy manifestation of 21st Century crony capitalism and creeping state-corporatism. Lionized from Hollywood to Harvard Yard for their unorthodox conversion to CSR and smitten with their corporate rock star status, Browne and...

"Big banks are bad for free markets. Far from being engines of free enterprise, they are conducive to what might be called 'crony capitalism,' 'corporatism,' or, in Jonah Goldberg’s provocative phrase, 'liberal fascism.' There is a free-market case for breaking up large financial institutions: that our big banks are the product, not of economics, but of politics.

"With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work.

"Reporting from Washington— Over the last year, the Obama administration has aggressively pushed a $433-million plan to buy an experimental smallpox drug, despite uncertainty over whether it is needed or will work.

"Insider trading is illegal — except for members of Congress. A Wall Street executive who buys or sells stock based on insider information would face a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and quite possibly a federal prosecutor. But senators and congressmen are free to legally trade stock based on nonpublic information they have obtained through their official positions as elected...

It was the greedy free market, supposedly, that created both the housing bubble and the housing bust and led, inevitably, to the 'great recession.' Capitalism, according to most liberal pundits (and even Alan Greenspan in a bad mood), is an inherently risky and unstable system that requires government regulation to correct its flaws...

"New York gave us banks too big to fail. Washington bequeathed us Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Still, when it comes to crony capitalism, no one quite matches Chicago.

Soon the Illinois state legislature will meet in special session to consider the Chicago machine's latest favor: legislation designed to deliver tax relief to three of the state's largest companies. These tax breaks for the...

Despite the growing Solyndra scandal, yesterday the Department of Energy approved $1 billion in new loans to green energy companies -- including a $737 million loan guarantee to a company known as SolarReserve....

"Would a farmer who put out a trough of slop be surprised if it attracted a bunch of pigs? Then why are activists who promote enlarging the size and scope of government shocked when one program after another is hijacked by corporations that find it easier to seek favors in Washington than customers in the marketplace? And, knowing that such corruption is inevitable, why do mainstream media...

"Argentina’s ranking in The Wall Street Journal/Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom—now 135th out of the 179 countries ranked in the Index—has declined steadily in the seven years since President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, took power. It is by far the lowest ranked G-20 nation. Recently Charles Krauthammer neatly summarized why...

"In the summer of 2003, shoppers in Southern California began getting a break on the price of milk.

A maverick dairyman named Hein Hettinga started bottling his own milk and selling it for as much as 20 cents a gallon less than the competition, exercising his right to work outside the rigid system that has controlled U.S. milk...

President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are promising a climactic clash with Wall Street, but there’s a complication in their battle plan: The Democratic Party is closer to corporate America ... than many Democrats would care to admit.

"The growing narrative in Washington is that a decades-long unraveling of the regulatory system allowed and encouraged Wall Street to excess, resulting in the current financial crisis. Left unchallenged, this narrative will likely form the basis of any financial reform measures. Having such measures built on a flawed foundation will only ensure that future financial crises are more frequent...

"A privately held start-up that makes solar panels announced today that they would be filing for bankruptcy. The company, Solyndra Inc., received a $535 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy in September 2009. This follows two other bankruptcy announcements by solar start-ups this month. The explanation for these closures has been that world prices for solar products have...

"Sen. Chris Dodd’s financial regulatory reform bill, on which the Senate is slated to take a cloture vote this afternoon, has been the subject of much criticism of late, primarily for what opponents say amounts to a de facto institutionalization of 'too big to fail' with regard to the biggest power players in the financial sector."

"Economic freedom in the United States is on the wane. Historically a standard bearer for freer markets, the United States has seen its economic freedom rating fall in the last decade according to the latest Economic Freedom of the World index, published by a world-wide network of institutes. In 2000, the U.S. was ranked...

"Thanks to CNBC, the Department of Energy has been caught removing references to 'SunPower,' a solar energy company that was given $1.2 billion in loan guarantees, from old press releases (H/T Hotair).

'The changes occurred in two press releases from the Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program — the same program that has been the center of controversy surrounding the failed solar...

"The Environmental Protection Agency is offering thousands of taxpayer dollars and free publicity to whoever produces the most compelling pro-government-regulation propaganda, it announced on its website and in a YouTube video.

"First Solar, one of the world’s leading solar-panel makers, announced Tuesday that it will close its German manufacturing operations late this year, indefinitely idle four of its 24 production lines in Kulim, Malaysia, on May 1 [2012] and lay off 2,000 employees — about 30 percent of its global workforce.

The company, which with its thin film panels is the industry leader in...

"Renewable-loving Los Angeles is showing that even the power of billions of dollars in taxpayer 'stimulus' cannot overcome the dominant hand of government regulation, and ironically it’s costing President Obama more green jobs.

An elite Obama fundraiser hired to help oversee the administration’s energy loan program pushed and prodded career Energy Department officials to move faster in approving a loan guarantee for Solyndra....

"A few weeks before playing a central role in fraud charges against Goldman Sachs, hedge fund titan John Paulson invited colleagues to a fundraiser for Senator Chuck Schumer -- 'one of the few members of Congress that has consistently supported the hedge fund industry' -- according to a copy of the invitation obtained by POLITICO."...

"Former Vice President Al Gore thought he had spotted a winner last year when a small California firm sought financing for an energy-saving technology from the venture capital firm where Mr. Gore is a partner.

The company, Silver Spring Networks, produces hardware and software to make the electricity grid more efficient. It came to Mr. Gore’s firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers,...

"The defenders of free markets are often viewed as apologists for big business. Regulation of business is seen as necessary to the welfare of the public to prevent exploitation by selfish business people. Such a view would be hard to square with reality, with history both recent and distant.

In reality, business often welcomes regulation and openly lobbies for it. Business often doesn't...

"The 'partnership of government and business' is a new term for an old, old condition. We often fail to realize that the point of much of Big Government is precisely to set up such 'partnerships,' for the benefit of both government and business, or rather, of certain business firms and groups that happen to be in political favor.

"President Obama's Department of Energy helped finance several green energy companies that later fell into bankruptcy -- but not before the firms doled out six-figure bonuses and payouts to top executives, a Center for Public Integrity and ABC News investigation found.

Take, for instance, Beacon Power Corp., the second recipient of an Energy Department loan guarantee in 2009. In March...

The politically-connected win. Existing job-holders and companies lose. Home electric bills go up. Power also costs more for companies, making it more expensive to go into business or to stay in business.

"Mark Twain famously wrote, 'There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.' Peter Schweizer's new book, 'Throw Them All Out,' reveals this permanent political class in all its arrogant glory. (Full disclosure: Mr. Schweizer is employed by my political action committee as a foreign-policy adviser.)

"Today, we are constantly being told, the United States faces a health care crisis. Medical costs are too high, and health insurance is out of reach of the poor. The cause of this crisis is never made very clear, but the cure is obvious to nearly everybody: government must step in to solve the problem.

Eighty years ago, Americans were also told that their nation was facing a health care...

"J.P. Morgan Chase for the first time convened its board in Washington this summer, calling the directors to a meeting at the downtown Hay-Adams hotel, then dispatching them to Capitol Hill for meet-and-greets.

Last month, a firm run by the billionaire investor Wilbur Ross hired the head of Washington's top mortgage regulator to pick through the wreckage of the housing bust looking for...

"As President Obama's push for a healthcare overhaul moves toward its final act, the oft-vilified health insurance industry is on the verge of seeing a plan enacted that largely protects its financial interests.

That achievement, should it stand up in the final legislation, would be the capstone of a sophisticated lobbying and strategic campaign that began even before Obama was elected...

Nevada Geothermal enjoyed significant backing from the federal government. It received a $79 million loan guarantee from the same Energy Department program that helped finance the failed solar company Solyndra.

"The collapse of MF Global, the brokerage dealer headed by former New Jersey Governor and Goldman exec Jon Corzine, may seem like just another case of Wall Street fat cats paying the price for their speculation (actually, though Corzine may have run the firm into the ground, he’s reportedly going...

"'Can capitalism survive? No. I do not think it can.' Thus opens Schumpeter's prologue to a section of his 1942 book, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. One might think, on the basis of the quote, that Schumpeter was a Marxist. But the analysis that led Schumpeter to his conclusion differed totally from Karl Marx's. Marx believed that capitalism would be destroyed by its enemies (the proletariat), whom capitalism had purportedly exploited, and he relished the prospect. Schumpeter believed that capitalism would be destroyed by its successes, that it would spawn a large intellectual class that made its living by attacking the very bourgeois system of private property and freedom so necessary for the intellectual class's existence. And unlike Marx, Schumpeter did not relish the destruction of capitalism. 'If a doctor predicts that his patient will die presently,' he wrote, 'this does not mean that he desires it.'"

"One of the law firms hired to provide legal work for the Treasury Department on a multibillion-dollar federal loan program also lobbied Congress for a private client pushing to expand the same government initiative, records show.

The Treasury Department retained Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal LLP more than a year ago to provide legal advice on the Federal Reserve’s Term Asset-...

"Remember the sloppily written 'for the children' toy testing law that went into effect last year? The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) requires third-party testing of nearly every object intended for a child's use, and was passed in response to several toy recalls in 2007 for lead and other chemicals. Six of those recalls were on toys made by Mattel, or its subsidiary Fisher...

"So, in an effort to stamp out corruption, which U.S. officials have prodded Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai to do, he orders his Central Bank to take managing control of the country’s largest private bank, which, I might add, 'also contributed to President Karzai’s reelection campaign last year.'"

"'Beltway Earnings Make U.S. Capital Richer Than Silicon Valley.' According to the latest Census figures, Washington, D.C. is now the wealthiest metropolitan area in the United States.

That's good news for local property values, but I can't say it fills me with hometown pride. After all, Silicon Valley's wealth was earned -- just rewards voluntarily given for producing innovations that...

"Main Street remains suspicious of government plans to buy distressed mortgage assets. Leading politicians and newspaper editorials are struggling to explain how the financial bailout will help Main Street. They see that the challenge is to get the American people to come around.

In fact, it is the elites who are badly misguided. The reality is that the Paulson plan is nothing more than...

The 'polluter pays' rhetoric is still often used, and most Americans probably think that current environmental policies make polluters pay. In truth, however, this approach is seldom embodied in American environmental laws.

"Green energy investments are coming from every direction. Whether it is the stimulus package or the cap and trade bills proposed in Congress, the government is eager to invest taxpayer dollars in renewable energy technology. As Americans become desensitized to the copious amounts of money the government is spending, clean energy investments are growing from millions to billions. And companies...

"Today the Bureau of Labor and Statistics released its monthly jobs report showing that the U.S. economy added only 103,000 jobs this December. With the unemployment rate now at 9.4%, this marks the 20th month in a row that the unemployment has been over 9 percent, a post–World War II record. You are going to hear a lot of noise from...

Christopher Helman favorably profiled Oklahoma billionaire George Kaiser‘s 'green' energy agenda. Yes, solar-panel-maker Solyndra recently went belly up, leaving 1,100 people out of work and the federal government with a half-billion-dollar liability.

"As the once-formidable Enron Empire continues to implode--and new revelations appear daily about the inner workings (and apparent financial shenanigans) of this firm--we are treated, not surprisingly, to the wrong story by the mainstream news media and their associates from the political classes. It is bad enough to see a huge firm go bankrupt, but what makes this situation even worse is the...

"A year ago, a Reno clean energy businessman warned the Public Utilities Commission that if it didn’t set a few standards for NV Energy’s wind rebate program, its customers could end up footing the bill for turbines that rarely produce electricity.

One reason behind his concern: To be eligible for rebates, customers didn’t need to prove that the wind actually blows enough to justify...

"When President-elect Obama came to Washington in late 2008, he was outspoken about the need for an economic stimulus to revive a struggling economy. He wanted billions of dollars spent on 'shovel-ready projects' to build roads; billions more for developing alternative-energy projects; and additional billions for expanding broadband Internet access and creating a 'smart grid' for energy...

"The appointment by President Obama of Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and CEO of General Electric, to head the new President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness is just another sign of the commitment of the Obama Administration to 'Crony Capitalism'. For over 100 years GE was known for business innovation and manufacturing excellence. But long gone are the uplifting moments in our nation’s history...

"Despite frosty relations with the titans of Wall Street, President Obama has still managed to raise far more money this year from the financial and banking sector than Mitt Romney or any other Republican presidential candidate, according to new fundraising data.

Obama’s key advantage over the GOP field is the ability to collect bigger checks because he raises money for both his own...

"There are two capitalisms. There is mundane market capitalism and there is political capitalism. Markets regulated by the rule of law and governed by a freely functioning price system are post and beam in the architecture of prosperity. You step into a grocery and there in the freezer are your coveted waffles waiting as if someone knew you were coming for them. But no one is looking after...

"Beacon Power Corporation, which filed for bankruptcy late last week, was the recipient of a $43 million loan guarantee from the Energy Department. Campaign contribution information from Open Secrets shows that Beacon Power's CEO F. William Capp donated to both Barack Obama and two Massachusetts Democrats.

"As 'Occupy Wall Street' continues to grow globally, many wonder what is causing the movement in the first place and what the outcome will be. The naming of the movement, related to Wall Street where it all started, does not do justice to the real issues. Yes, the original protests started with dissatisfaction at lavish bonuses and salaries in the financial sector, when seemingly little...

"This week's HHS proposed rule requiring everyone to carry contraceptive insurance and forcing insurers to cover the entire price is the latest bit of Public Policy Profiteering on birth control from the drug industry, I argue in my column today.

There's a rich history of Democratic politicians subsidizing Pharma through birth-control initiatives.

"President-elect Obama, you have been a strong and eloquent defender of property rights and the rule of law, recognizing that they undergird Americans' freedoms and protect us from unjust government actions. These protections may be most important to those of modest means, who are the disproportionate victims of government takings of property. As explained by the NAACP and other civil rights...

"President-elect Obama, you have been a strong and eloquent defender of property rights and the rule of law, recognizing that they undergird Americans' freedoms and protect us from unjust government actions. These protections may be most important to those of modest means, who are the disproportionate victims of government takings of property. As explained by the NAACP and other civil rights...

"If capitalism was the most influential single economic and social force of the 20th century (and continuing today), there is no better guide to understanding its power and complexity than famed economist Joseph Schumpeter, says Harvard Business School's Thomas K. McCraw. 'I think Schumpeter is the most penetrating analyst of capitalism who ever lived. He saw things other people didn't see...

Sen. Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) office is defending the majority leader's decision to hold a fundraiser with Wall Street executives just as Democrats worked to craft a bill regulating the financial industry.

"The lead story in today’s New York Times is a devastating look at solar and wind power subsidies. Too bad it appears on a Saturday when fewer people will read it (which may not be a coincidence). The print hed and sub-hed tell it better than the online version: 'Rich Subsidies Powering Solar and Wind Projects: Big Rise in Government Aid—Companies Are Virtually Assured of Profits.' It’s worth...

"Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) has pledged to block a Bush administration proposal being steamrolled through Congress to grant the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve sweeping new powers. Slowing things down would allow Congress to debate the issue fully before approving measures that could put taxpayers on the hook for billions in debt incurred by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government...

"Government spending drives taxes, deficits, debt and inflation, so it’s at the core of our economic problems. What to do about runaway spending? The tendency is to imagine that it might be controlled by electing the right politicians, enacting a law like a balanced budget amendment, passing a spending limitation ballot initiative, establishing a super committee or coming up with some kind...

"The White House faced mounting political complications as a second top fundraiser for President Obama was linked to a federal loan guarantee program that backed a now-bankrupt Silicon Valley solar energy company, and as two California lawmakers called for investigations of a state tax break granted to the firm.

"To speed economic recovery in Asia and promote the economic well-being of the United States, the Clinton Administration should advance further liberalization in free trade with and investment in Asian countries. Liberalization would undermine the policies of "crony capitalism" that caused the recent financial panic in Asia and, at the same time, encourage Asian governments to adopt the...

Solyndra LLC, the failed company that House Republicans said may have benefited from White House political connections, unsuccessfully sought a meeting with environment chief Carol Browner to argue for the use of solar panels on government buildings, e-mails show.

"Solyndra, the solar panel company whose highly publicized failure and consequent investigation by federal authorities has flashed across headlines recently, isn't the only business to go belly up after benefiting from a piece of the $800 billion economic stimulus package passed in 2009.

At least four other companies have received stimulus funding only to later file for bankruptcy, and...

"A company that served as a showcase for the Obama administration’s effort to create jobs in clean technology shut down Wednesday, leaving 1,100 people out of work and taxpayers obligated for $535 million in federal loans.

Solyndra, a California solar panel maker, had long been an administration favorite. Over the past two years, President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu each had...

"Three’s quite a bit of back and forth across the political aisle about Solyndra. Does throwing $500 million at a company that failed [to] show that all government tech pump priming is a waste of money? From the other side, well, sure, some will fail but the program as a whole is going to deliver just great results."

"How did a failing California solar company, buffeted by short sellers and shareholder lawsuits, receive a $1.2 billion federal loan guarantee for a photovoltaic electricity ranch project-three weeks after it announced it was building new manufacturing plant in Mexicali, Mexico, to build the panels for the project.

The company, SunPower (SPWR-NASDAQ), now carries $820 million in debt,...

"The three top U.S. tycoons on Forbes’s 'Green' billionaires list have received billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies for their clean technology companies, after they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for political campaigns and lobbying.

"In a year where Solyndra became the face of the solar industry’s chronic failures, even the holiday season could not prevent one last flurry of layoffs in 2011.

The Mountain Enterprise (based in Frazier Park, Calif.) reported over the weekend that First Solar, Inc. – which the media sometimes identifies as the largest solar company in the world – laid off half its employees on Friday...

"After President Barack Obama entered the White House in 2009, U.S. embassies around the world apparently felt that foreigners still did not know enough about him, despite the unprecedented blaze of global publicity surrounding his election. As has been remarked, U.S. public diplomacy in the age of Obama often amounts to the same thing as publicity for the President himself, with American...

"President Barack Obama recently announced the appointment of 20 private-sector members to the President’s Export Council. Although the President promised to provide Americans an 'unprecedented level of openness in Government,' the White House announcement did not mention the numerous financial connections between President Obama and his appointees.

"The Obama administration’s game plan for passing their financial regulatory reform plan is clear: ignore the details of their bill, demonize Wall Street, and cast conservatives as the pawns of big bankers. But as Politico reports today, there’s a complication in their battle plan: 'The Democratic Party is closer to corporate...

"Beware politicians whose legislation bears a grandiose title. You can be certain their schemes will accomplish the opposite of their purported intent. Such is the case with the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law one year ago today. The massive 2,300-page tome - commonly known as Dodd-Frank - promised to fix the financial system, streamline regulation and end...

"The Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA) proposed in the Clean Energy Financing Act would act as a 'green bank' to provide loan guarantees to energy and automotive projects that Washington deems worthy. Similar to President Obama’s proposed infrastructure bank, in effect, CEDA would distort the energy market by redirecting capital inefficiently and create unlimited taxpayer liability...

Energy Secretary Steven Chu appeared before a Republican-controlled House committee Thursday and immediately turned the tables on his GOP critics. Yes, it’s regrettable that a half-billion-dollar government loan to Solyndra went sour.

"As soon as the federal government announced its trillion-dollar bailout (for starters) of Wall Street plutocrats, defenders of the bailout pulled out what they apparently believed was their secret weapon: the myth of Alexander Hamilton as the alleged inventor of American capitalism. Hamilton, they said, would approve of the bailout. Case closed. How could anyone dispute 'the architect of the...

"Since the late 1960s, the steel industry has sought protection in the form of tariffs or subsidies from the federal government. Now the steel industry wants the US government to protect the market even further by applying tariff rates as high as 40 percent on steel imports. Furthermore, the industry is seeking a federal subsidy of $10 to $13 billion to fund its legacy costs, the pension and health care benefits of retired steel workers.
The two most frequently cited reasons for this increased government intervention in the steel industry are for national security reasons and to counter 'unfair' foreign competition. But the justifications the steel industry offers for this increased government intervention amount to nothing more than myths and have no basis in reality."

"All the ire at banks and multinational companies by dangerous communists and anti-globalisation hippies is misdirected. They should reserve their venom for the rustic rich-world farmer living the life of Henry David Thoreau."

"In 1978, to the laughter of many and the derision of a few, I wrote a book called, 'The Downfall of Capitalism and Communism,' which predicted that Soviet communism would vanish around the end of the century, whereas crony or monopoly capitalism would create the worst-ever concentration of wealth in its history, so much so that a social revolution would start its demise around 2010. My...

"If you get someone to answer the phone at Evergreen Solar, chances are they'll sound pretty down. The few employees left are waiting to see what unfolds as the company goes through the death throes of bankruptcy.

The Massachusetts-based solar company's demise has escaped much national notice as Congress delves into the political controversy surrounding the industry's other big failure...

"Throughout the painful and paradoxical existence of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) we have been told by those in the mainstream media, as well as by sympathetic politicos, that at its root, at its genesis, the OWS Movement was both organic and legitimate. We were told that the movement was exclusively about a rebellion against high unemployment and crony Capitalism, even as those championing the...

"THROUGHOUT much of the 1990's, Washington had a standard and somewhat preachy -- message to the rest of the world: In an era when markets rule and military might is of limited use, a nation's influence rises and fall largely on its financial credibility.

That was easy to say when the country's markets were rising, its biggest companies were trusted to report the facts each quarter and...

"This week, Sarah Palin gave a terrific speech in Indianola, Iowa. In it, she tore into the Washington political class. Men and women in government get wealthy by 'bail(ing) out their friends on Wall Street and their corporate cronies...reward(ing) campaign contributors...buy(ing) votes via earmarks...And there is a name for this: It's called corporate crony capitalism...It's the collusion of...

"Through this special series on green-energy crony-corruption, we've been highlighting specific examples of green-energy loan guarantees and grants. What connects each of these cases is that they received fast-tracked approval from the Department of Interior (DOI) for their projects. Of course, they also have many other dots that connect, such as key players with White House visits, raising...

"Who's got the most juice on Capitol Hill? Here's a list of the top industries contributing to members of the 111th Congress during the 2009-2010 election cycle. The first list shows the overall 50 biggest industries. The other two highlight the top 25 industries giving to members of each of the two major parties. In all cases, the Top Recipient listed is the individual member of the 111th...

"Let's pretend that we have the political guts to expand economic opportunities for people at the lower end of the economic spectrum. What vested interests should be attacked, and what economic regulations should be targeted for elimination?"

"My post in the NYT's Room for Debate blog elicited a good number of comments and questions. So today I thought I might elaborate on the most-important of these questions: What exactly is economic freedom and what do we know about the way it affects prosperity?"

"For over four decades, Richard Posner has made major contributions to the case for limited government, particularly in the regulatory realm. He is one of the most economically literate lawyers in the law-and-economics movement. However, the financial shocks since 2007 have produced in him a crisis of confidence — and, apparently, a decline in his economic acuity.

President Obama and the Banking Committee Chairman, Chris Dodd, introduced 27 new regulations for the banking industry. The new regulations are based on the notion that the financial meltdown of 2008 was due to de-regulation of the banking industry.

"Over the next 75 years, the Social Security program will face a cash shortfall of more than $20 trillion (in 1998 dollars). If no changes are made in the program's design, bringing Social Security into balance will require a 54-percent increase in payroll tax rates, a 33-percent reduction in benefits, a big hike in the retirement age, or a combination of the three. Yet tax increases and...

Nevertheless, a large proportion of the winners were companies with Obama-campaign connections. Indeed, at least ten members of Obama's finance committee and more than a dozen of his campaign bundlers were big winners in getting your money.

The most popular company in which members of Congress were invested in 2010 was General Electric, a company that spent more than $39 million on federal lobbying that year and ranked as the No. 3 top spender on lobbying.

"To correct that oversight, here is a breakdown of the $2.1 million in campaign donations provided by individuals associated with the business and labor interests now represented on the President’s Export Council, as reported at opensecrets.org and fec.gov."

Obama’s key advantage over the GOP field is the ability to collect bigger checks because he raises money for both his own campaign committee and for the Democratic National Committee, which will aid in his reelection effort.

"Since 2009, when the financial reform debate began in earnest, the industry has employed at least 73 former members of Congress, accounting for 47 percent of the 156 former members who have reported lobbying in the time period."

We show that state corruption and political connections have strong effects on municipal bond sales and underwriting. Higher state corruption is associated with greater credit risk and higher bond yields. Corrupt states can eliminate the corruption yield penalty by purchasing credit enhancements.

"
TIF takes money from schools, fire departments, libraries, and other urban services funded by property taxes. By eliminating TIF, state legislatures can help close current budget gaps and prevent cities from taking even more money from these urban services in the future."

"When their complaints are examined, however, what stands out is not anger at an actual free-market capitalist system, but frustration with the prospect of an almost insurmountable economic system of privilege based on cronyism."

"But at the heart of the meltdown were the financial industry's distorted incentives — created in large part by decades of misguided government policy — which caused bankers and investors to take enormous risks without due regard for their consequences."

"The national Congress is no longer a rubber stamp for the president's initiatives. And there is a growing sense among Mexican citizens that elected officials are there to serve the people rather than the other way around."

"I do not think there is a greater issue in all of our lives than the very message that we are going to talk about today - private property, free enterprise, free market principles, and employee ownership - popular capitalism, spreading the means of production to as many as possible, and the benefits therefrom."

"Many attribute the differences in economic performance across countries to factors such as natural resources, climate, education, culture, colonialism, or just dumb luck. Although each of these factors is certainly important, many economists have come to believe that institutions are far more significant in explaining economic development."

"During the third quarter of 2011, more than 400 companies, unions, trade associations and other groups reported lobbying the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, popularly known as the debt supercommittee, according to a new analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics of reports filed last month with the U.S. Senate."

"Now, however, this claim is being replaced with a skepticism that is equally wrongheaded: a perception that the so-called Asian miracle had no substance, that it was a house of cards destined to collapse under the weight of cronyism and corruption."

"The Federal Estate Tax (aka, death tax) is currently repealed, due to a provision in the 2001 Economic Growth Tax Relief and Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA). However, on January 1, 2011, the tax comes back at the rate of 55 percent on all estates above $1 million."

"With the goal of encouraging greater citizen involvement in government, the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota presents its first Government Transparency report. By analyzing data obtained through public records, we shed light on issues that receive a surprising lack of scrutiny. First up: municipal liquor operations."

Originally conceived as a means to prop up sagging crop prices to support American farmers, the Food Stamp Program, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, has exploded into a welfare program that costs tax payers a record $75.67 billion in 2011.

"However, India continues to be hampered by poor business conditions and misgovernance. Almost a quarter of Indian districts have recorded some sort of Maoist violence, and corruption is a major issue. India ranks very low on ease-of–doing-business indicators."

"However, in this paper I attempt to show that an adaptation of the standard AngloAmerican political and economic system can offer insights that help to explain numerous aspects of the Asian growth model."

"This study discusses how HUD officials operate within a highly politicized environment, which is heavily influenced by the groups that HUD subsidizes and regulates, including the housing industry, financial institutions, and community activists."

"Is government, through its banking and regulatory roles, the guiding hand that leads entrepreneurs toward socially and economically beneficial innovation? Or does government best support the growth of innovation by providing a non-intrusive institutional environment within which entrepreneurs create new things?"

"Economics is the scientific study of how humans adjust their behavior to seek happiness as they define it, in light of the fact that they can’t have everything they want. Unlike psychology, economics doesn’t attempt to explain the underlying preferences (tastes) that people have, but instead takes preferences as a given starting point."

Advocates of the free market including those considered 'right-wing' and 'conservative' believe it is wrong to violate property rights. Consequently, they oppose egalitarian measures to steal from the rich and give to the poor. Such 'income redistribution' represents naked theft and epitomizes the Founding Fathers' fears of unfettered democracy.

In this lecture, Rand discusses the universally accepted negative views of businessmen in general, and "[t]he injustice of the antitrust laws and the manner in which they penalize success for being success" in particular.

"Peter Schweizer, fellow at the Hoover Institution & author of Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy, on whether Super Committee pols had any put options premised on their own failure, and a detailing of the corruption uncovered in his new book, Throw Them All Out: How Politicians and Their Friends Get Rich Off Insider Stock Tips, Land Deals, and Cronyism that Would Send...

"Peter Schweizer doesn't have many friends on Capitol Hill these days. So few, in fact, that he was told not to even show his face at a congressional hearing on insider trading — even though that hearing was the direct result of his new book, 'Throw Them All Out.'

Schweizer, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, spoke at The Heritage Foundation this week about his research on the '...

George Mason University economics professor Russ Roberts testifies before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The U.S. used to have a mostly free market, but recently it has devolved into a highly mixed economy.

"Susette Kelo's legal battle with New London, Conn. brought about one of the most controversial and troubling Supreme Court rulings in many many years. But her fight also spurred a backlash among property owners and state legislatures. Susette Kelo now lives in a town across the river from New London."

"Though many (especially on the left) blame capitalism for so much of today's problems. But I believe what they are incorrectly calling capitalism, is actually what I call 'corporatism'. Many of my fellow libertarians call it 'crony capitalism', but I think that muddy's the issue by using the word 'capitalism' in a different context.

As Steve Kroft reports, members of Congress and their aides have regular access to powerful political intelligence, and many have made well-timed stock market trades in the very industries they regulate.

From the General Motors bailout to subsidies for Solyndra, crony capitalism is as serious a threat to liberty, free markets and civil society as ever. Cato Institute Senior Fellow Tom G. Palmer recently discussed The Morality of Capitalism (...

Randall Holcombe, Professor of Economics explains how cronyism in the tax code can benefit special interest groups, and he discusses how we can address this cronyism by reducing the spending power of the government."

"Thanks to CNBC, the Department of Energy has been caught removing references to 'SunPower,' a solar energy company that was given $1.2 billion in loan guarantees, from old press releases (H/T Hotair).

'The changes occurred in two press releases from the Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program — the same program that has been the center of controversy surrounding the failed solar...

The term monopoly comes from the 17th century era of mercantilism where kings and queens would accept bribes from businesses in order to grant them the exclusive rights to sell goods in a certain area.

"Russian philosopher Leonid Nikonov explains the differences between socialism, cronyism, and free market capitalism. Nikonov is a contributor to The Morality of Capitalism, a new book that is being distributed worldwide by the Atlas Network and the Students for Liberty."

"President Obama's Department of Energy helped finance several green energy companies that later fell into bankruptcy -- but not before the firms doled out six-figure bonuses and payouts to top executives, a Center for Public Integrity and ABC News investigation found.

Take, for instance, Beacon Power Corp., the second recipient of an Energy Department loan guarantee in 2009. In March...

"It is clear big businesses wield great control over the federal government. How do we stop this so-called crony capitalism, or collusion? Professor Jason Brennan argues that while it may seem paradoxical the best solution is to limit government power. He provides two reasons for this. First, the power to 'regulate the economy' is really the same thing as the power to distribute favors, which...

"Former BB&T Chairman and CEO John A. Allison discusses how mandates like Sarbanes Oxley and the Patriot Act helped cause the housing meltdown and financial crisis. He spoke at the Cato Institute's 29th Annual Monetary Conference held November 16th, 2011."

"The Occupy Wall Street movement expresses valid frustrations, but do the protesters aim their accusations in the wrong direction?

Economics Professor Chris Coyne draws the distinction between crony capitalism and legitimate capitalism. Crony capitalism is government favoritism fueled by handouts and is responsible for the plight of the 99%. Legitimate capitalism, on the other hand,...

At FreedomFest 2011, Reason's Nick Gillespie sat down with Barron's columnist Epstein to talk about his book Econospinning and the failure of what Epstein seens as widespread crony capitialism or 'crapitalism.'

"The triumph of crony capitalism occurred on October 3rd, 2008. The event was the enactment of TARP — the single greatest economic-policy abomination since the 1930s, or perhaps ever.

Like most other quantum leaps in statist intervention, the Wall Street bailout was justified as a last-resort exercise in breaking the rules to save the system. In the immortal words of George W. Bush, our...

"Washington is riddled with corruption, much of which actually is legal. The politicians and other insiders claim that more ethics laws and lobbying rules are the solution. Some even say the only answer is campaign finance laws that restrict 1st Amendment rights to fully participate in the political process. This Center for Freedom and Prosperity video explores a different hypothesis and...

"'Regulations actually benefited the regulated industry at the expense of consumers.' Watch as Susan Dudley explains who really benefits from regulations and how that effects the economic freedom of individuals."

A Petition, also now commonly known as the Petition of the Candlemakers or the Candlemakers' Petition, is a satirical publication addressed to the French Chamber of Deputies. It illustrates the rent seeking concept by purporting to petition the Chamber to enact restrictions on the sun and the use of "all openings, holes, chinks, and fissures through which the light of the sun is wont to enter...

Making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009....

This economic classic is noted for providing us with terms for and expositions of such key economic ideas as the division of labor, "invisible hand," self-interest as a beneficial force, and freedom of trade.

Yet these public-private partnerships are generally counterproductive. Despite their high-minded titles under the rubric of 'Corporate Social Responsibility' they often end up nourishing a culture of cronyism.

"This is comprehensive legislation to overhaul regulations in the financial sector. It would establish a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency to regulate products like home mortgages, car loans and credit cards, give the Treasury Department new authority to place non-bank financial firms, like insurance companies into receivership, regulate the over-the-counter...

Over the past two years we have faced the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression. Americans across the nation are struggling with unemployment, failing businesses, falling home prices, and declining savings.

Mises explained economic phenomena as the outcomes of countless conscious, purposive actions, choices, and preferences of individuals, each of whom was trying as best as he or she could ... to attain ... wants and ... avoid ... consequences.

We initiated this audit to determine whether the Department had implemented effective safeguards to manage the Government's risk of loss and to identify opportunities to improve loan processing activities.

This spreadsheet lists institutions which have received funds as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act from various government agencies, but failed to comply with the Act's stipulated reporting procedures. The document lists the names, the award amounts and dates, as well as the awarding agency.

"Written by Elbridge Gerry, member of the Philadelphia Convention from Massachusetts, and one of the number who refused to sign the Constitution, for reasons given in his letter to the presiding officers of the Massachusetts legislature﻿ ...." Gerry uses this document to present some of his objections to the Constitution, many of which centered around the lack of a Bill of Rights. Item number...

John Stuart Mill was a British political philosopher and politician. In this classic essay, he argues that "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.... Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign."﻿

If the United States mean to obtain or deserve the full praise due to wise and just governments, they will equally respect the rights of property, and the property in rights: they will rival the government that most sacredly guards the former; and by repelling its example in violating the latter, will make themselves a pattern to that and all other governments.

The Secretary of the Treasury in obedience to the order of the House of Representatives, of the 15th day of January 1790, has applied his attention, at as early a period as his other duties would permit, to the subject of Manufactures....

Consider Solyndra, the now-bankrupt California solar panel company, which was once the poster child of the administration’s 'green jobs' initiative. Solyndra is proving to be Exhibit A in the case for why the president’s economic policies have failed.

"To prohibit commodities and securities trading based on nonpublic information relating to Congress, to require additional reporting by Members and employees of Congress of securities transactions, and for other purposes."

The Occupied Wall-Street Journal was a publication compiled and printed by the protesters and their supporting organizations in October of 2011 during the protests against corporate/government collusion.

Professor Tullock's 1967 article entitled: 'The Welfare Costs of Tariffs, Monopolies and Theft' is a widely cited classic that has generated a major ongoing research program in the political economy of rent seeking.

In the investigation of the constitution, under your consideration, great care should be taken, that you do not form your opinions respecting it, from unimportant provisions, or fallacious appearances.

"The answer to the question in the subject line is crony capitalism. What is crony capitalism? It's
something that looks like markets, except that businesses or unions prosper because of friends
in government instead of going out and doing the hard work of competition"

The financial and economic crisis that began in 2008 is the most alarming of our lifetime because of the warp-speed at which it is occurring. How could it have happened, especially after all that we’ve learned from the Great Depression?

From regulators who tried to stop this problem before it swung out of control to hedge fund managers who correctly foresaw the coming housing crash and profited from it, And Then the Roof Caved In shows you how the crisis we currently face came to be.

"An engaging look at what led to the financial turmoil we now find ourselves in.

Bailout Nation offers one of the clearest looks at the financial lenders, regulators, and politicians responsible for the financial crisis of 2008. Written by Barry Ritholtz, one of today's most popular economic bloggers and a well-established industry pundit, this book skillfully explores how the United...

"Almost 80% of America thinks its government is dysfunctional. A far majority think the special interests have too much power over their lives. But few understand how our democracy is undone from within. In his autobiographical work Capitol Punishment, Jack Abramoff brings readers inside the shady world of Washington politics as never before. Not only will the public know - for the first time...

"In her shocking new book, Malkin goes where the mainstream media refuse to tread. She digs deep into the records of President Obama's staff, revealing corrupt dealings, questionable pasts, and abuses of power throughout his administration."

How did we go from the Jeffersonian ideal of limited government to the bloated imperialist system of Hamilton’s design? Acclaimed economic historian Thomas J. DiLorenzo provides the troubling answer in Hamilton’s Curse.

"During the 2008 election season, politicians from both sides of the aisle promised to rid government of lobbyists’ undue influence. For the authors of Lobbying and Policy Change, the most extensive study ever done on the topic, these promises ring hollow....

If you've wondered what's happening to America, as the federal government swallows up the financial sector, the auto industry, and healthcare, and enacts deficit exploding 'stimulus packages,' this book makes it all clear--it's a big scam.

"Why do CEOs take home hundreds of millions and stockholders get peanuts? When did 'business ethics' become an oxymoron? It didn't used to be this way. Our founders kept tight control over corporations. Then one highly dubious court decision, followed by another outright fraud gave corporations the same legal standing as human citizens. Free enterprise, capitalism and democracy are in a fight...

"The Audacity of Hope is Barack Obama's call for a new kind of politics—a politics that builds upon those shared understandings that pull us together as Americans. Lucid in his vision of America's place in the world, refreshingly candid about his family life and his time in the Senate, Obama here sets out his political convictions and inspires us to trust in the dogged...

By means of a lucid narrative of the crisis and a series of analytical chapters pinpointing critical issues of economic collapse and gradual recovery, Posner helps non-technical readers understand business-cycle and financial economics....

"When it comes to our prosperity, our freedom tradition, and our constitutional government, President Barack Obama has been the great destroyer—knocking down the free-market economy and principles of limited government that have made America the envy of the world.

As New York Times bestselling author David Limbaugh documents in chilling detail in his new book, The Great...

"'Capitalism is a source of value. It’s the most amazing vehicle for social cooperation that has ever existed. And that’s the story we need to tell. We need to change the narrative. From an ethical standpoint, we need to change the narrative of capitalism, to show that it’s about creating shared value, not for the few, but for everyone. If people could see that the way I see it, people...

"An unimpeachable classic work in political philosophy, intellectual and cultural history, and economics, The Road to Serfdom has inspired and infuriated politicians, scholars, and general readers for half a century."

Before plunging into the specifics and key offenders of modern crony capitalism, we need to ask: How is this possible, and why does our system of laws allow all this to happen? As you will see, the answer isn't simply a matter of overlooked corruption.

"Newt Gingrich’s New York Times bestseller, To Save America, is now in paperback! Featuring a new chapter and completely updated throughout. To Save America will offer the first critical analysis of the 2010 elections and will reveal what Republicans must do to get the country back on track. 'History is repeating itself,' says Newt. 'Republicans took back the House, just like we did in 1994.'...

In responding to the financial crash of 2008, both the Bush Administration and the Obama Administration have relied on prescriptions developed by John Maynard Keynes, the most important economist since Marx. But should we be relying on Keynes?

"We believe that special deals from government for politically connected individuals, businesses, and powerful political interests destroy the marketplace. These favors, though often sold to the public as 'regulations' or 'works programs', are usually vehicles for some to take from the many.

When powerful interests are permitted to use the coercive power of the state for private ends,...

"Breitbart.com offers real-time access to top news and analysis sources. You can monitor up-to-the-minute feeds from wires, newspapers, networks, key blogs and more. And there are multiple options for exploring topics by channel. While some news sites select stories for the user and others allow users to rank favorite news stories, Breitbart emphasizes user access to the raw news feeds -- kind...

"The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization — a think tank — dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues."

"Jack Abramoff's rollercoaster life story might as well be a major motion picture. In fact, it is. Already two major motion pictures based on Abramoff's story have hit the silver screen. Dubbed on the cover of Time Magazine as the 'Man Who Bought Washington', Abramoff rose to become one of America's most successful and prominent lobbyists, before becoming enmeshed in the most harrowing...

"The Center for Responsive Politics is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, the organization aims to create a more educated voter, an involved citizenry and a more transparent and responsive government. In short, the Center's mission is to:

At Intellectual Takeout, we think it's about time freedom went viral.
Before our generation is the opportunity to embrace freedom, to unleash each individual's potential, and to have a prosperous future. And yet it seems that almost everyone running our cities, states, and federal government is intent on destroying freedom and burying us in debt to pay for it.
If you, like us, believe that...

In the genre of documentaries revealing the problems with public education, "Kids Aren't Cars" focuses on helping us understand how schools are modeled after a factory system and what we need to do to change them. Understandably, treating kids as if they are a product to be manufactured has had detrimental effects on children going through the system and the overall level of education in America...

"Many parents and taxpayers feel helpless because the problems can seem so monumental. 'Kids Aren't Cars' director Kyle Olson reviews what he learned in the filmmaking process and the small things individuals can do that will add up to make a big difference."
Here's Kyle being interviewed on a few things you can do and share with friends, family, and educators:
Part 1Part 2

We all know Facebook is awesome for keeping up with friends, sharing about your life, and even distributing ideas. One great new way to get people thinking is to take advantage of the new banner profile with the help of Intellectual Takeout. Here's what one of our banners looks like loaded up on a Facebook profile:
If you haven't changed your banner profile, than Facebook is likely ...

While many documentaries on the education system focus on various examples of failure, "Flunked" takes a bit different tack. While certainly acknowledging and exposing the failures of the system, "Flunked" also seeks out individuals and approaches that ARE working in education. The hope is that these points of hope may serve as examples for others working in education.
Here's the trailer:...

Okay, so your friends and family keep telling you to jump
on the social media bandwagon, but you have no idea what the fuzz is about.
Here’s the deal: The Internet gives liberty-loving folk like
us an opportunity we have never had before: to make the case for individual
liberty, limited government and free market economics instantly and globally.
But with the vast amounts of information...

Looking for an internship? If so, Intellectual Takeout has an opportunity for you.
We have plenty of work to do as well as ideas to spread, and we need your help to get it done.
If you're interested in an internship with Intellectual Takeout, you likely share our passion and you're excited about the possibility of working for a great cause. That said, you might have a few questions about what "...

The Association of American Educators (AAE) advances the teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection, as well as promoting excellence in education so that our members receive the respect, recognition and reward they deserve.

Are you concerned your child isn't getting the education necessary to compete in the global economy or even, perhaps, to carry on the lessons and learning of Western Civilization? If so, you have a number of choices. You could, of course, consider changing schools to a charter school, private school, or even homeschooling. If that's overwhelming for you right now, you can always supplement your...

Curiously, not a few individuals are realizing that their education (K-12 and even college) neglected to provide them with as much understanding of the world as they would like. At Intellectual Takeout, we believe that however you feel about your education, there is still much to be learned. To that end, we'd like to refer you to one book and a collection of "study guides" that serve as...

Sure, the idea of homeschooling is likely overwhelming. Indeed, homeschooling is a big commitment and a lot of work. That said, there's a reason why more and more parents are turning to homeschooling as the best option for their child(ren)'s education(s).
Perhaps you are starting to realize that the public school system has changed a lot since you last attended it. Maybe you can't afford private...

Let's face it, most of us love to watch TV and movies. A wonderful way to spread ideas is to embrace our love of the cinema by hosting a movie night with friends and family.
There are numerous documentaries that do a fantastic job of sharing the ideas of liberty. You can pull a small group of friends together at your house or even consider asking a local restaurant or tavern to let you...

Another movie that tells the story of the failing public school model in the United States is “The Lottery”. It takes its own unique look at the systems by focusing on the use of lotteries to choose which children will be plucked from failing public schools and put into more successful public charter schools.
Here’s the trailer:
You can watch the whole movie right now with the help of Hulu...

While there are a variety of really good documentaries about the failing public school systems in America, "The Cartel" stands alone in its frontal assault on the teacher unions, particularly those in New Jersey. If you'd like to get an inside look into how some teacher unions operate and the effects they have on education, you'll want to watch "The Cartel."From the movie's website: "This movie...

How often do you hear conservatives being called a bunch of knuckle-dragging Neanderthals?
Here's the reality: Conservatism, classical liberalism, and libertarianism have a rich, intellectual heritage reaching back many millennia. Our ideas are not just some historical relics from bygone eras; they are the very foundation of Western Civilization in general, amd the United States in particular....

Sadly (or happily for some), life goes on after college. So does the fight for freedom.
Building friendships, networking, and growing the movement is critical after college. If our ideas are to be preserved and promoted, you need to stay involved. Plus, in a time when the individual seems to be ever more isolated and adrift, these groups can help plug you into social networks you can use....

Okay, so we don't expect you to drive a wooden stake into your flat screen. Plus, we're total hypocrites since we watch some TV. But here's the point: People waste a ton of time watching TV. If you're cool with government taking over your future, than keep watching Dancing with the Stars. If you consider yourself to be a free man or woman and want to live in a free society, then watch what you...

A great way to make a difference on your campus by spreading the ideas of individual rights, limited government, and free markets is to tutor. Plus, you can occasionally make a little bit of money.
Depending on the subject matter, you will be discussing a variety of ideas, key thinkers, and theories. As anyone who has tutored knows, there are almost always opportunities to expand upon a topic....

We've built Intellectual Takeout to provide you with quick, easy access to information. In time, we hope to become your one-stop-shop for the ideas of freedom.
If your professor allows you to bring your laptop to class (if not, you can use an iPhone), we recommend keeping a tab open to Intellectual Takeout.
As we continue to generate new content on the site, you will be able to fact check the...

When it comes to campus life injustices, student fees rank high on any list. On most campuses across the country a mandatory student fee is assessed to each student at the beginning of the year. A portion of this fee, which may be several hundred dollars, will go toward funding various political, religious, and interest groups.
A college requiring you to support groups espousing ideas which...

If
you're not happy with the direction of the country and you want to take
back your future, at some point you will have to do something. It's not
enough to just know that we're going in the wrong direction. You
actually have to step out and get involved.
Most college campuses have conservative and libertarian student
groups. Find one of them to join.
Below is a list of some of the larger non-...

Now that you're at college and the initial excitement has worn off, maybe you're thinking that the course selection is a bit biased and you'd like some options.
So how do you (the consumer) get the college (the business) to change up its offerings? It certainly won't be easy. Nevertheless it's something that should be done--particularly since you're footing the bill.
A good, education in a free...

Whatever activism you choose to do on campus, you need to get your story out. A popular tactic used by the Left is to isolate and intimidate freedom-loving students. You're not alone and there are a lot of people in your city, state, and country that can probably support your efforts. They just need to know what is happening.
Whenever you can, record in-class bias, discrimination against...

The reality is that most students (and people for that matter) won't speak out. It's called human nature and it was recognized in the Declaration of Independence: "...all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer,
while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the
forms to which they are accustomed."
While you might feel alone when debating a teacher,...

In the land of the free and the home of the brave, speech codes are a particularly odious example of politically correct repression on many a college campus. In some ways, college campuses are the least free places for thinking and speech in America.
Your best friend for fighting your school's repressive speech codes is the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). Here's a short clip...

Running for office isn't easy, even in college. Not everyone is cut
out for it, either. For those of you who are, this completely non-partisan section is for you.
If you are inclined to pursue student government,
we're not going to spend time on telling you how to get elected. A good
place to go for ideas and training is CampusReform.org. Rather, we want to help you in office, as a believer in...